Rider Biomechanics
"Balanced mobility, creates stability"
Horses can only work to their true potential when the rider is balanced, with their weight evenly distributed. If a horse favours one rein over the other, leg yields beautifully to the left but not to the right, just can’t seem to find the correct canter lead, or has a trot that’s almost impossible to sit to, chances are good that it’s the way the rider’s body moves, or more often, does not move, that is contributing to the problem.
Rider Biomechanics Coaching @ Meadowbrook, is available with Sarah, who has more than 30 years' experience working with horses in a wide range of disciplines including dressage, eventing, competitive endurance riding and years spent as an arab racehorse trainer. Having run the equine therapy side of the business since 2014, a serious neck injury in 2018 meant that this was no longer a viable full-time option. And hence, Sarah took her extensive knowledge of equine anatomy and biomechanics and started to develop an equally extensive knowledge of human anatomy and biomechanics, with a particular focus on their role in riding.
Whilst working with more and more riders, a common theme began to emerge. Most of the riders Sarah was seeing, had some form of injury, often incurred many years previously, that appeared to be a significant contributory factor to the problems clients were encountering in their riding.
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Sarah has an uncanny ability to spot even the most subtle misalignments, and using a host of different techniques, can help the rider identify and permanently correct the underlying cause so that the horse can move more freely underneath the rider. Even small changes can transform a horse’s way of going and as an added bonus, clients will often find that pain they’ve lived with for years also disappears.
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About Sarah
In 2018, knowing the benefits of Pilates for riders, Sarah trained as a Level 3 Mat Pilates Instructor and is also a qualified Equipilates™ Biomechanics Trainer.
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At the same time, Sarah began to investigate the use of "Franklin Balls" in riding. January 2019 saw Meadowbrook host the first true equestrian Franklin Ball clinic in the UK. The response to this clinic from riders was significant, the postural improvement in one session, dramatic. In February 2019, Sarah travelled to New York to attend the first Franklin Method Equestrian training with Eric Franklin, keen to learn how and why these little balls made such a big difference. Sarah returned to the UK as the first (at the time, only) Franklin Method Equestrian trainer in the UK. Sarah remains at the forefront of Franklin Method Equestrian training and is currently one of just three Level One Equestrian Educators in the world.
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Determined to help her clients overcome these injuries, Sarah travelled to Lisbon to qualify as an AiM (Anatomy in Motion) Practitioner. The impact these programmes had on her own injuries was profound, and Sarah is now able to incorporate this work in her work at Meadowbrook.
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Intent on learning even more about the human body, in 2021 Sarah qualified as a Level 3 Sports Massage Therapist and more latterly in 2022 went onto become one of only a handful of RAPID Neuro-Fascial Practitioner's in the UK, so you can be sure she really understands how your body affects your horses' whilst in the saddle.
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Every rider is different, so no two biomechanics sessions are ever the same. Sarah is constantly looking for new and different ways to help riders at all levels get the most out of their time in the saddle, and is highly trained in a diverse range of methods, making her uniquely placed to customise a programme perfectly tailored to each individual rider.
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